Belated Fourth & Early Fifth Week Updates

Sorry about the lapse in updates (if anyone is still reading this that is!) ... work and school have conspired to keep me a busy as of late.

Last time I mentioned that the Orthodontist had placed me in a *kind of* weird elastic pattern. Well, after a week the left side had moved significantly faster than the right, so I went back for an unscheduled appointment and he placed me in the more traditional *triangle* pattern. This is where the elastics are connected to the upper incisors as well as the two teeth on the lower jaw immediately below them. This is supposed to align the jaws on the *vertical* plane rather than moving them side-to-side on the *horizontal* plane. If you remember, the surgeons decided two weeks before my first surgery that I didn't need to have the upper jaw surgery even though I have an ~2mm cant ... this *triantle* elastic configuration is designed to better address that issue.

All I can say is -- Wow! these elastics work and they work FAST! I noticed a change within two days ... it's amazing how quickly these changes can happen.

Hopefully I'm still on track for debracing during October 2007. My next Orthodontist appointment is on September 11th so I'll post more photos then.

Good News This Week

What a difference one week makes. Last week I was concerned because the elastic bands seemed to be working on my left side and weren't on my right side. This was creating an edge-on-edge bite of a sort on the left side of my jaw. Well, a couple of days after writing that post the right side kicked into gear and the mid-lines lined up. I was still a bit concerned, however, because of the edge-on-edge bite.

Fast forward to yesterday to my Orthodontist appointment. I told the Orthodontist about my concerns and he said not to worry ... that he was going to be able to correct the bite using heavier elastic bands (heavy - 1/4 in. 6.4mm) and a different configuration. What he did was place the bands on both the left and right bottom incisors and the left and right upper back molar. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of Orthodontia but the intent is to move the upper jaw forward a bit and the lower jaw back a bit. Well, for the past two days my jaws have felt like they're being squeezed in a vice ... not terribly painful but a constant ache. And, I've already noticed that the edge-on-edge bite is no longer happening! I'm supposed to wear this configuration for the next month and then I'll hopefully transition to night-wear only.

The really big news, though, is the Orthodontist is predicting an October 2007 de-bracing time-frame! It's not an exact date but I'll sure take it :)

Quick Update

Hey there. Just a quick mid-appointment update today.

So, I've been wearing elastic bands (which I can remove for eating and brushing) since the surgery in order to line up the lower mid-line with the upper mid-line. What I've noticed is that the left side of my lower jaw has moved into position but the right side has stubbornly refused to move. This has caused a slight edge-on-edge bite pattern on the left side and is very frustrating because it seems as if we're moving backwards on the treatment scale.

My next Ortho appointment is this coming Tuesday so hopefully he'll be able to work some magic and get the right side lower jaw moving.

Three Month Post Surgery Update

Hope everyone is well.

So, three months post surgery and things are progressing nicely. I had appointments with both the surgeons and orthodontist last week and, by all accounts, I'm where I need to be at this point in time.

The surgeons said my range of motion and my ability to open wide are good (I don't have exact measurements) and that the incision points have all healed as expected. They also reminded me they don't want me running or lifting heavy weights (basically anything that might cause me to clench my jaws) for six months post surgery ... I thought I'd definitely be back in the gym by now. They then said, "See you in four months" and I was out the door.

The orthodontist removed the archwires so I could brush and floss without them and put a couple of bends in the upper archwire to bring a couple of premolars down a bit. I tried to get him to commit to a debanding date ... no luck there. It's still way too early to start talking about that. My next appointment with him is in another three weeks.

Still a little bit of numbness on the left side of the lower lip and chin area and some residual swelling on both sides of the back mouth area. I know the updates have been slow lately, but that's the way the healing's progressing at this point.

Nine Week Post Surgery Update

So last week's appointment went like this: 50 minute drive to the Surgeon's office, wait 45 minutes past my scheduled appointment time, 3 minute check-up with a surrogate surgeon because my two primary surgeons are in surgery, 2 1/2 hour drive home through Washington, DC traffic.

A huge waste of time in my opinion.

I did manage to schedule my next post surgery appointment in conjunction with my Orthodontist appointment ... I'll still have the traffic to deal with but at least I won't have to do it twice.

I'll post more next week after my two appointments.

Photo Slide Show

Quick Hello

Hey guys. Not a lot going on Ortho-wise so I thought I’d respond to a few of your comments.

Mary – you know, it is the small things, the getting back to “normal” things, that make me realize how far along in this whole process I’ve come. It seems like only a little while ago that the braces were first put on when, in reality, it’s been two and a half years already.

Kristen – yup, I still have a bit of numbness but it’s pretty much relegated to the left side of my lower lip and chin area. It’s weird too … I’ll be sitting there and then my lip and chin will feel like they’re jumping and jerking due to the nerves coming back. I keep looking in the mirror to make sure I’m not making any weird faces :) . The diet is getting better – lately I’ve been branching out a bit to various restaurants (Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que and a couple of Italian ones in the area). And it’s funny – I have absolutely no desire to hit the fast food drive-thru. Hopefully I can stick with that!

Aixa – Hey! I’m not sure on the time-line for the elastic bands … it could be that the Orthodontist will have me stop wearing them after my next appointment or I could wear them until I have the braces removed. The good thing is that I can take the elastic bands off when eating and then put them back on after brushing/flossing.

Mrs Shanton - :) It’s funny (now) but I could only find one or two pictures of me smiling pre-surgery. It’s not something I consciously thought about – I just developed a habit of not smiling when cameras were pointed in my direction. It feels good knowing there’s now a natural symmetry to the lower third of my face.

One last thing … If you haven’t done so already, please check out Brandy’s Blog . She underwent both upper and lower jaw surgery just over a week ago and is making a fantastic recovery.